Inspired by trips to Rome (and dubbed “Robert of the Ruins” by his contemporaries), Hubert Robert combined the sunlight, poplars, and pines of the French countryside with the crumbling relics of classical antiquity. In The Fountain, the graceful pose of the classical fountain sculpture echoes the actual movement of the laundress with the jug, suggesting a glorification of hard work and simplicity. During the era of the French Revolution, a growing “back to nature” movement romanticized rural life as contempt for the sumptuous lifestyle of the aristocracy grew among the lower classes. Robert’s capriccio (imaginary scene) dignifies the servants, who attend to their duties, dwarfed by the splendor of towering trees. The conservation of this period frame was made possible with the generous support of The Richard C. von Hess Foundation.